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41th Installment of La Diablesse

CHAPTER 13

I was in the cave for months, but it felt like frigging years. I eat as much as I could and walked the perimeters of the cave trying me best to maintain me sanity and strength. I did not see much of the leader of the La Diablesse in that time then one day when I was completely healed she came into the cave. She instructed me to take off me pants.

“You have healed nicely the ladies have been taking good care of you.” She said shaking she head with approval, I stood there looking down at me feet, I mean, I felt like a damn slave on an auction block, ironic is it not?.

“I think it is time for the ceremonies to start,” I kept looking down so she did not see the fear in me eyes but she walked up to me and held me head.

“Don’t worry it will not be as bad as you think. I will try to make it as painless as I could and if you comply with what we want I may not let the Warriors have their way with you.” Me whole body tingled as anger boiled up in me I mean hell lady, how stupid does she think I was not painful! One of the other La Diablesse came up behind she holding a suit of clothes in she hand the leader took it from she and handed it to me. I hesitated as they both watched and waited and for a spilt second I thought of making a run for it, but hell, them women would have overpowered me for sure. I slowly put on the ceremonial dress white pants, white shirt, I thought what is it with these people, La Diablesse, voodoo practitioners, what’s with the white clothes? I looked into she eyes and with the most sincere tone of voice I could muster blurted out.

“What is your name, I mean I cant very well be receptive to you if I don’t know your name?” She looked at me, trying to figure out what me angle was.

“My name is not important, not to you anyway.” She stopped talking but kept looking at me.

“Why me?” I persisted and she looked at me a small frown forming on hserforehead.

“I chose you because of your lack of faith. From when you were a child I knew you would be one I could seduce, even with those ridicules rituals that Legba John performed I knew you would never really believe, I knew sooner or later you would fall from their protection.”

“How did you know about that?” I asked amazed at how much she knew bout me and she chuckled she eyes sparkling with pride.

“I have been watching you for years. Remember when you were eight and your mother took you to the carnival that came to the island and a woman came up to you and handed you cotton candy.” She stopped talking and looked at me to see if I remembered a jolt of recognition hit me and me whole damn body shook. I remembered that day like it was yesterday, a woman in white had come up to me when me mother had gone to the restroom and handed me a stick of pink cotton candy. The La Diablesse chuckled again.

“We don’t just pick someone at random we watch and wait until the time is right, after all we have all the time in the world. You my boy was destine to be here, we thought we had lost you when you left to go to that bourgeois college, but you came back. So you see it is destiny that you are here.” She floated round me she hands crossed in front of she I mean the woman looked almost regal.

“Our ways are subtle. A cool breeze, the hot flashes you got and your mother thought you were a sickly child, those inexplicable fevers you suffered as a child when your mother used to wrap you in banana leaves to control your rising tempreture, that was us.” I remembered those times me mother was frantic trying to figure out why I was always sick.

“All this just for sex?” I questioned, she seemed a little agitated but took a deep breath and controlled sheself.

“Its more than sex, it’s about acceptance into the other world, it’s about defying the gods and the men who worship them. Like me these women while alive was told that sex is the devils pleasure. It was supposed to be for reproduction and reproduction only, even after death the gods kept us from experiencing the pleasure of the most spiritual of acts all simple because they wanted to keep us to themselves. We were objects, subhuman in a society where sex was only pleasurable to them.” She was beginning to get angry and stopped talking for a second.

“Erzulie Frieda came to our rescue, requiting women like me to help women like the ones in this cave they will be completely free and she in turn defied the gods and now here we are, free to explore our own spirituality free from male domination and when the ceremonies are over she has prepared a place for us in her upper room. That is where the women will go after their baptism.” A death like silence filled the cave as we stood eyes interlocked, she hair swayed in the breeze and she green eyes reflected what seemed to be a little sympathetic expression, I understood what she was saying I mean we lived in a society where women were treated like possessions and not like equal human beings.

“Why do I have to die?” I asked, the words almost stopping at the tip of me tongue.

We have to protect ourselves, if the living knew that we were here they would surely hunt us down and destroy what we have. It has happened before back in the motherland. I resolved to take extreme measures not to let that happen here.” She stopped talking and seemed to shutter at the thought of the cave being over ran by the living.

“We also have to be wary of the gods, those Obeah societies they will do anything the gods ask of them. I would hate for these women to spend the rest of their lives in a state of constant suffering, I will live in the domain of the evil spirits before I let that happen.” She glided away followed by the other La Diablesse. I started to call after she but decided it was not a wise thing to do.